SK chief returns to court as judges weigh whether soaring shares count as marital property in high-stakes divorce settlement fight
A new mediation session could reshape the size of the asset division as the court revisits whether SK shares are marital property and how their sharp rise in value should be counted.
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and his estranged wife Roh Soh-yeong, director of the Art Center Nabi, will face each other in court for the first time in two years and two months on Monday as they seek to reach a settlement over the division of assets in their divorce case.
The Seoul High Court will hold a second mediation session on Monday, in which the two sides are expected to discuss the scale, method and basis of the asset division.
The last time Chey and Roh met in court was in April 2024 during the final hearing of the appellate trial. Only Roh attended the first mediation session on May 13 and confirmed both parties' positions.
One of the central questions is whether Chey's SK shares qualify as marital property subject to division.
The appellate court ruled that 30 billion won ($19.7 million) in slush funds from former President Roh Tae-woo, Roh Soh-yeong's father, served as seed money for SK Group's growth. Based on that finding, the court valued the couple's joint assets at 4 trillion won and recognized Roh's contribution, raising the asset division award to nearly 1.4 trillion won.
The Supreme Court, however, sent the case back to the Seoul High Court on Oct. 16 last year. It ruled that the former president's slush funds were illegally obtained and therefore should not be considered part of Roh's contribution to SK Group's growth, even if the money had flowed into the company.
Some legal observers have also interpreted recent court documents sent to both parties as suggesting that the court views SK shares as marital property.
If the shares are ultimately deemed subject to division, another major issue will be whether their recent surge in value should be reflected in the asset calculation.
The value of the assets could differ by more than threefold depending on whether the benchmark date is set as April 16, 2024, when appellate arguments concluded, or the date when proceedings in the remanded case conclude.
In April 2024, SK shares traded at 160,000 won per share, and the value of Chey's holdings stood at 2.07 trillion won. The stock has since climbed sharply to around 600,000 won per share, significantly increasing the value of his stake.
Chey's side argues that the SK shares are not subject to division because they were inherited or gifted and had been owned by Chey before the marriage.
Roh's side, on the other hand, maintains that the shares should be regarded as marital property because she contributed to the family's and company's success by taking responsibility for child-rearing and other household duties while supporting Chey's management activities.
If mediation fails, the court will issue a ruling recalculating the proportion and amount of the asset division in accordance with the Supreme Court's decision.
Chey and Roh's divorce case dates back to 2015 after Chey admitted to having an extramarital lover and a child with her and announced a divorce plan. He later filed for a divorce settlement in 2017.
Chey and Roh married in 1988 and have three children.
BY KIM BO-REUM [[email protected]]
